Business action on climate change: where next after emissions trading

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The UK has a clear commitment to tackling climate change – yet government estimates suggest that we are not currently on track to meet targets for carbon dioxide reduction – particularly the pledge to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2010.

This report focuses on the business sector, evaluating the policies in place to help business take action on climate change. It looks in particular at the implications of the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), which began on 1 January 2005 and creates an EU-wide market for carbon. This report reviews the incentives in place to encourage business action on climate change, and makes recommendations for strengthening and simplifying the policy framework. It considers the following policies: the EU ETS, the Climate Change Levy (CCL), the Climate Change Agreements (CCAs), the Carbon Trust, the UK Emissions Trading Scheme and the Renewables Obligation. Descriptions of each of these policies are set out in the introduction.

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